Fatherly Instincts
by Ballycastle-Bat
Summary: The weight of Nora West-Allen's mistakes and her fear of the wrath of future Barry is weighting on her and she needs her dad.


AN: I really like writimg platonic relationships so here's somethimg I just threw together in a couple hours. It's just a one-shot but I think I have some plans for a multi-chapter Nora West-Allen-centric fic. (Well Nora/Dante Ramon II centric who I accidently invited while writing this, oops? Now it's a weird AU OTP and I can't stop myself. I do this to myself a lot lol)

NWA BA NWA BA

Barry was still trying to wrap his head around the day's events. He had a daughter. She was a beautiful, perfect mix of himself and Iris--the love of his life. He, however, felt no attachment to her. He didn't know her as far as he was concerned, she didn't exist. Not yet, anyways. Not for him.

It was a weird feeling. He briefly recalled the conversation he had with Joe about how he first felt when Wally returned. How he couldn't understand why he didn't sense Wally the way he always sensed if Iris needed him.

He understood that now, as he looked this girl in the West-Horton living room. He felt nothing when she explained that she was their daughter. Okay, he felt something . He felt overwhelmed and terrified, just a moment ago he wasn't even ready for him and Iris to start planning for a baby, and now he has a grown daughter right in front of him.

"What happened, baby girl?" asked Iris, moving across the living room. This was weird for her too, but she had given birth to this girl in the future, hell she was wearing her one of a kind jacket-- they must have been close.

"I'm sorry. So much happened and I want to explain everything to you …" her eyes fell closed and Barry caught her in a blink before she fell. Carefully he laid her on the sofa.

"Get her to the lab," suggested Caitlin, stepping forward to check her pulse. "Her pulse is normal for a speedster, I think she just needs to be hydrated and fed."

Barry rushed her to the lab, laying her on a bed in the medbay. Caitlin got to work, administering fluids. Barry watched from the doorway, leaning partially on the doorway. He couldn't look at Nora though. His eyes were trained on Caitlin and her movements.

"How is she?" came Iris's voice several minutes later.

"I think she's fine. I don't know," he answered plainly.

"What's wrong?" Iris frowned, he was brooding again and Iris could tell.

"Am I going to be a good dad?"

"Barry, you are going to be an amazing dad. Why would you even think that?"

"I don't feel anything for this girl. It's like looking at a stranger, aren't I supposed to feel something? I mean you swooped right in with baby girl and I can't even look at her." he began to speak quickly. "She's my daughter and I feel nothing. Aren't I supposed to have some kind of fatherly instincts?"

An arm came around him, rubbing his arm.

"We don't know who she is, babe." she reminded him. "This is all crazy to me too, but I'm sure she's more stressed than we are."

Iris and Barry moved to sit on the other bed, Iris running her fingers through her husband's hair in an attempt to soothe the raging thoughts and emotions that were swallowing him up.

"S.T.A.R. Labs?" They looked up to see Nora looking around the room with a confused expression.

"Hey, sweetie." Iris got up and moved over to sit on the side of Nora's bed. "You exhausted yourself, but Caitlin took care of you."

"Aunt Caitlin is here?"

"I think she ran to get some more fluids but she'll be back," Iris assured her, brushing her hair back gently.

"Is dad mad at me?" After a moment of silence, she finally asked what had been on her mind.

"No. He's right here." Iris looked back at Barry on the other cot.

"I'm not mad." Barry smiled but he didn't meet her eyes.

"You can't even look at me, you're disappointed."

"Everything's fine, kiddo," he replied, practically channelling Oliver Queen. Reserved.

"You don't call me kiddo."

The meta app on his phone went off, a low buzzing filling the room. Barry stepped forward and kissed Nora's forehead.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. Get some rest and I'll be back to check on you soon."

Caitlin soon returned with a a box of IV bags and Nora shot up, throwing her arms around Caitlin.

"Auntie Cait!"

"Whoah-- Hello!" She laughed a little. "It's um, good to see you?" She said awkwardly. "I need to give you another IV but then you should be good to go." She ushered Nora to the bed and let Caitlin give her another IV.

"Mom and dad have told me so many stories about you. Like when you took down the evil meta human-- and when you practically preformed surgery on yourself! Dante is a med student doctor but he can't do that!"

"Who's Dante?" Asked Caitlin.

"Just a boy." Said Nora quickly, hoping to change the subject.

"Well, he doesn't sound like just a boy." Iris teased.

"He's just Cisco's son, pretty much the same as him but different? Never shuts up about movies but is great at whatever he does-- Dante is pretty different from Cisco too though like his eyes are different. However he's dating this awful girl named Debby. I think she just likes him because when he's a doctor he'll be making a lot of money-- I'm mean sure he makes my Dopamine levels go up a little but so does sugar and video games and really anything that can make you happy.-- oh my gosh am I allowed to tell you that? Dad didnt fully explain what to do if something like this ever happened--"

"Honey- Honey." Iris laguhed. "You should rest."

"You're right, sorry." She wrung her hands together in a nervous action.

NWA BA NWA BA

Nora had been around for a few days. Barry remained the same, he was distant and couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. It just made him feel guilty. Nora stayed with "Grandpa Joe" and was very active with the family. Never hesitating to get up at three AM to help with her aunt Jenna, and hadn't event commented how weird it was to change her aunt's diapers.

"You know, Nora, you're allowed to rest." Joe laughed a little. "You don't need to speedforce away all your aunt's problems.'

"I don't mind," insisted Nora as she started to clean up the nursery. "I am kind of a problem right now."

"Nonsense. You're family."

"Dad doesn't think so." she folded the baby blanket and draped it over the wall of the crib.

"He's trying. You know he gets overwhelmed and then he broods. .. I just think he's having a hard time to process it, but I promise he will come around."

BA NWA BA NWA

Barry still had no idea what Nora had done exactly, maybe stopped him from dying? He was sure he would have taught his children the dangers of time travel early on in the use of their powers.

He glanced at the paper, reading Iris's latest article about the Flash live. He had pointedly denied to read the rough draft so he could be surprised. If he was being honest, he liked reading her stuff in print best.

There was a knock on his door and he stood, heading over and opening it. Nora stood in the doorway.

"Dad, can we talk?" she asked daring to glance up at him. He could tell she was anxious. She quickly smoothed down the sides of her hair in a nervous action much like he would do.

"Of course ... nugget ... come on in." he stepped aside so she could make ER way inside. He nervously made two mugs of coffee. He hoped Iris's favourite dark roast was the way to go.

"You don't call me that either." Nora replied looking at the floor.

"H-how old are you, Nora?"

"I'll be nineteen in March."

"A spring baby." he smiled and offered her the mug.

She accepted it and went to sit on the sofa. He joined her and they sat in silence for a while.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" he prompted after a few minutes of silence later.

"I'm just … scared," she admitted. "Which is pretty out of character I take after mom in that aspect, but I'm smart like you-- not that mom isn't smart! -- just science smart you know? Mom is always complaining that we need to speak English-- you should have seen her when I started writing in speed force symbols I thought she her brain was going to implode--"

Barry reached forward and put a hand on hers with a laugh, and when he looked into her eyes he saw it. This was his daughter. Not a shadow of doubt in his mind. She was _his_.

"It's okay." He assured her. "I know exactly what you mean."

"I'm just scared that you'll hate me when I tell you, but it feel like you're already mad at me. I'm sorry, daddy." she looked up at him and her eyes were sad, but also guarded, as if she was just waiting for him to start yelling.

"Come here." he opened his arms to her and she set her coffee down on the table and slid across the sofa. Barry's long arms wrapped around her and he held her close to his chest.

"My beautiful girl," he spoke softly. "There is nothing you could do that would ever make me hate you. Whatever's going on, we'll fix it, okay? I promise."

"That's what you call me," she replied quietly.

He pressed his lips to the top of her head, rubbing her arm gently.

"My beautiful girl, tell me what happened, okay? We'll figure it out."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this, but then you died right in front of me, and that would have affected the timeline-- I had to fix it but now things are different and I don't understand."

"What happened?"

"One satellite destroyed S.T.A.R. Labs and killed people, but something was different, you weren't winning and things were going wrong--" she hid her face against his chest. "I watched you die, and that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Everything is going to be alright. You were just trying to preserve the rest of the timeline. Everything will be okay. We'll figure out how to get you home and then we'll figure out the rest as we go along."


End file.
